Michael Zansky

at Stefan Stux,

through Dec. 21

530 W 25th St

This show's revved-up title, "A Vacation on Mars with God," signals its thematic ambition (evolution gone kerflooey, casting doubt on divine benevolence), its zany figuration (shades of Carroll Dunham, Peter Saul, the Chicago Imagists) and its material range (paintings, carved-wood panels and "fire drawings" that look like brown ink on paper but are made with an industrial torch). Zansky, a set painter and production designer for big-name film directors, clearly knows how to construct an exhibition that is not just a series of discrete aesthetic encounters but also a coherent, large-scale sensory experience.